The Effects of the Creative Word of God

The nature of the Word of God is altogether different from human utterance. Baha’u’llah explains that the Word has unique creative power and alone is capable of effecting spiritual transformation in the human heart. The Word of God holds within it the keys to infinite spiritual knowledge. Indeed, the Word of God is the source of all other knowledge, and its effects are felt in every human undertaking.

Baha’u’llah has written:

The Word of God is the king of words and its pervasive influence is incalculable. It hath ever dominated and will continue to dominate the realm of being. The Great Being saith: The Word is the master key for the whole world, inasmuch as through its potency the doors of the hearts of men, which in reality are the doors of heaven, are unlocked…. It is an ocean inexhaustible in riches, comprehending all things. Every thing which can be perceived is but an emanation therefrom. – Tablets of Baha’u’llah, p. 153.

The Baha’i teachings point out that the Word of God is not to be equated with mere words. Instead, it is the expression of God’s creative power that guides and shapes human development. In the following passage Baha’u’llah expounds the creative power of the Word of God:

Every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God is endowed with such potency as can instill new life into every human frame, if ye be of them that comprehend this truth. All the wondrous works ye behold in this world have been manifested through the operation of His supreme and most exalted Will, His wondrous and inflexible Purpose. Through the mere revelation of the word “Fashioner,” issuing forth from His lips and proclaiming His attribute to mankind, such power is released as can generate, through successive ages, all the manifold arts which the hands of man can produce. This, verily, is a certain truth. No sooner is this resplendent word uttered, than its animating energies, stirring within all created things, give birth to the means and instruments whereby such arts can be produced and perfected. – Gleanings from the Writings of Baha’u’llah, p. 142.

Calling attention to the marvelous acceleration of the growth of human knowledge in his own day, Baha’u’llah explains that it is the direct result of his revelation. He also predicts even greater things to come:

All the wondrous achievements ye now witness are the direct consequences of the Revelation of this Name. In the days to come, ye will, verily, behold things of which ye have never heard before. Thus hath it been decreed in the Tablets of God, and none can comprehend it except them whose sight is sharp. . . . Well is it with them that apprehend this truth. – ibid, p. 142.

Evidence of the transformative power of the Word of God can be seen in its effects on those who sincerely believe in it. This influence is far different from any ordinary ideology or philosophy. For example, in the Gospels and in the book of Acts, the effect of Christ’s teaching upon his earliest followers is apparent. Hardly any of those who believed in him were persons of prominence or wealth. Some had led morally questionable lives before coming into contact with him. Yet these same people were utterly transformed by their faith and experienced profound spiritual changes. Many of them devoted the rest of their lives to preaching the good news, and many paid with their lives for this. Eventually, like a great tree that had begun as a little seed, Christ’s Word permeated the Mediterranean world. A morally and spiritually distinctive community of believers arose, and theirs eventually became the chief religion of the West. Few living in Jesus’ time would have foreseen such a destiny for the nascent religion, but its spread is now understood by many to be an evidence of his divine mission—and an evidence of the creative power of the Word of God.

The opinions and views expressed in this article are those of the author only and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of BahaiTeachings.org or any institution of the Baha’i Faith.

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Kenneth E. Bowers currently serves as a member of the national governing body of the Bahá'ís of the United States. God Speaks Again is his first book. Mr. Bowers and his family currently reside near Chicago.Read more